Sunflowers
by singmetothesun
Summary: England is in the midst of a heatwave and Scorpius isn't handling it very well. Post-Hogwarts domestic fluff. (Reuploaded because I posted the wrong document, whoops!)


**SUNFLOWERS**  
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* * *

It was a very warm day, a lot warmer than usual for England, but Albus didn't really take notice. In fact, he was in his study poring over his latest rehabilitation report. Their newest Mooncalf in the sanctuary was progressing well, though it would still be perhaps a year before it could dance again, and their oldest Clabbert was just starting back on solid foods meaning they'd be feeding it lizards again very soon.

His eyes fell upon the collection of photos on the desk. Centre was him and his fiancé on their very last day of Hogwarts two years ago. To the left was Albus, his mum, dad and siblings, and to the right was one of him and his very first rehabilitation assignment – a lime green Fwooper with a heavily damaged voice box, the result of getting caught in a battle between a wanted woman and an Auror.

The Fwooper, Elpis, had been at the sanctuary about four months before Albus started working there and his boss, Marta, had said she was a hopeless case. But Elpis, to the surprise of everyone, bonded extremely quickly with him, and over the following twenty months, found her full singing voice again and was now considered the sanctuary's mascot. As her previous owner was now in Azkaban, Elpis needed a permanent residence and no one was willing to let her go.

An unmistakable loud thud followed by a groan interrupted his train of thought.

His instincts jolted alive and he raced down the stairs three at a time, stopping at the doorway to the kitchen. "Scorpius?" The panic rose upon seeing his best friend in a heap on the tiled floor, dressed in only his boxers.

"Scorpius!" he said, running over and dropping down on his knees beside him.

"M'fine," came the mumbled reply and Albus instantly relaxed. "M'just hot."

"I know you're hot, that's why I want to marry you."

Scorp spoke directly into the floor and was only heard because of Albus' proximity to him. "The floor is cold and it's nice. It's too hot everywhere else."

"You're so dramatic, you know that?" As if to echo this point, Scorp rolled onto his back, spreading his gangly limbs out like a starfish. The magizoologist couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's thirty-one degrees Celsius, Albus, Malfoys are not made to exist in temperatures exceeding fifteen." He took a second to look Albus up and down. "You're actually wearing a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, it's sickening."

"Must be the Weasley in me, all the fiery hair and freckles meaning we're not fatally affected by the heat, unlike yourself."

Scorpius rolled over again, fidgeting to apparently claim a cold spot on the floor that hadn't yet absorbed his body heat, and half-heartedly prodded a pale finger into his thigh. "And yet, _you_ got stuck with the Potter hair?"

"Okay yeah, you're right, my entire family burns in the sun except me. Look at my tan," he smirked, winking as he unbuttoned a cuff and slid the sleeve up his arm, revealing the sun-kissed flesh. Scorpius hummed in apparent approval.

"Sunflower."

Albus did full-on laugh at that. "Surely you're _my _sunflower if your head is on straight."

Scorpius snorted. "There's nothing straight about me, Albus."

"This heat really is getting to you, isn't it?" He smiled fondly for a second before narrowing his eyes and moving closer to actually touch his man's pale skin. It was slick with sweat and his white-blond hair was plastered to his head.

He placed a kiss on his shoulder before sprinting back upstairs to fetch his wand from his study, summoned a towel, a blanket, and a bowl of ice, and sat back down beside Scorpius. Folding the towel up, he placed it under his fiancé's head, wrapped a few ice cubes into the flannel and began sponging Scorpius' neck and back.

"Oh god that's so nice," the healer-in-training said, moaning in satisfaction. It turned Albus on a little, no lie.

"Roll back over so I can get your forehead," he said softly, grinning when Scorpius obeyed. He began dabbing at Scorp's face with the flannel, the ice inside melting and making the cloth exceedingly cold, but in the most pleasing way.

Deciding it wasn't enough, Albus set the flannel aside before picked up his wand, an idea having formed in his head. He muttered the required incantation and gingerly waved his hand in front of the end. Happy it was working perfectly, he then pointed the wand at Scorpius' chest. The effect was immediate. The blond gasped in surprise before nodding and smiling, raising his head a little so he could see what Albus was doing.

"Ohhh, what's that? That's almost better than the compress."

"Just cold air," Albus replied. "I usually use it to style my hair. Lily showed me."

"Remind me to hug the life out of her the next time I see her." He relaxed back against the makeshift towel-pillow, his eyes closed and Albus couldn't help but smile. He loved this man with everything he had.

They stayed there for a while, Albus fanning Scorpius with the air from his wand as he laid stretched out across the floor. The middle Potter now had his shirt unbuttoned but still around his shoulders and his jeans were rolled up to his shins. He would sometimes stroke his fiancé's forehead, then they'd hold hands. Eventually, Albus was laid next to Scorpius, his head on his chest and Scorpius was absent-mindedly stroking his back.

They could have fallen asleep there, only Albus was actually starting to overheat himself. With a smirk, he sat up and made sure Scorpius was looking him dead in the eye. But he didn't strip off his clothes, instead, he grabbed his wand again and pointed it at the ceiling.

The familiar shimmering sky-blue light shot out and after a few seconds, there was a very noticeable drop in the room temperature. Scorpius was looking at him with his eyebrows raised. Albus just shrugged. "We have an Abraxan at the sanctuary that can't fly in heat over eighteen degrees as its wings get stuck together, so we use these atmospheric charms to keep it comfortable."

"And _why_ didn't you just do that before?" Scorpius asked, looking affronted. He utterly failed though because the way his nose scrunched up only served to make him look adorable.

Albus grabbed his hand and raised it to his lips so he could kiss it. "Because I like looking after you."

"You utter sap. Come here." Scorpius all but pulled Albus on top of him and the man wasn't about to deny him that. Straddling his hips, his hands braced on Scorp's chest, he began to lean forward but Scorpius was quicker, his hands snaking around Albus' neck and pulling him until their lips crashed together.

His senses came alive again; his heart racing, his skin burning under his fiancé's touch, his brain going to absolute mush because that was the effect Scorpius had on him. Albus wanted him closer and leant back, grabbing Scorp's shoulders so he followed him, still not breaking their kiss, sitting up with Albus in his lap and the shorter man's legs automatically wrapped around the blonde's waist.

Soon his shirt was being pushed off his shoulders and his hands were in his man's soft and fluffy hair. Albus groaned in pleasure at the sensations coursing through him and automatically rolled his hips, grinning into Scorpius' lips when he growled in response. Scorpius broke the kiss to start trailing his lips along Albus's neck, occasionally applying pressure with his teeth and Albus lost all sense of control. But so did Scorpius as the next thing he knew, Albus was on the floor and his jeans had disappeared.

"I love you, Albus Severus soon to be Malfoy-Potter," Scorpius whispered, leaving feather-light kisses all the way down his chest to his boxers. "You are the most beautiful man in existence."

Albus was barely holding himself together at this point but he somehow managed to utter a breathless reply. "You're my sunflower, Scorpius, I'm never letting you go."

They melted together after that, but in the most blissful way.


End file.
